1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power management system including an image processing apparatus to be maintained, an image processing apparatus, control methods for the power management system and the image processing apparatus, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the recent increase in consciousness about environment and energy, an attempt has been widely made to control optimization of power consumption by providing a power meter in various electronic devices, and collecting information measured by the power meter via a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network). Since devices such as a printer and multi-function peripheral installed in an office need to thermally fix a toner image on a paper sheet, they are classified into a group whose power usage is relatively large among electronic devices. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2003-32397 and 2006-227691 propose techniques of monitoring the use statuses of a plurality of image processing apparatuses connected to a network, measuring the total power consumption of the plurality of apparatuses, and switching the apparatuses to a power-saving mode according to the upper limit power consumption.
However, the above conventional techniques have the following problem. For example, the above conventional techniques are control methods based on the premise that a device is connected to a network, and a management server connected to the network can grasp the power state of the device and switch the power mode of the device. On the other hand, when service maintenance (part replacement, device adjustment, cleaning, and the like) is performed for an image processing apparatus, maintenance may be executed after disconnecting a LAN cable or telephone line to prevent the device from unexpectedly operating by, for example, receiving a job from the network.
There is also a demand for operating a device without any trouble during normal business time by performing service maintenance during the time when the normal operation of the device is stopped, such as the time when planned power outage is scheduled or the time when the use of power is significantly restricted. In the above conventional technique, however, a power management system cannot grasp the power state of the device or send an instruction to suppress power while the LAN cable is disconnected. The main power of the device may be turned on as part of maintenance work to, for example, check the operation after part replacement, and may be fully energized suddenly. In this case, the restricted used power may be exceeded.